Papua New Guinea

Places in Papua New Guinea

• Alotau

  Alotau is a laid-back provincial capital far from the violence of Port Moresby, offering a relaxed gateway to some of the most fascinating and unspoiled islands in the world. The town sits on the edge of Milne Bay and has resisted construction of a highway from the nation's capital, preserving its peaceful character.

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• Bougainville

  Bougainville is the largest island of the Solomon Islands archipelago, an autonomous region within Papua New Guinea. It is very off the beaten track with vast untapped tourism potential: rugged jungled terrain and amazing coral reefs.

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• Bulolo

  Bulolo is a small historic town in Morobe province that served as a major gold dredging centre until 1965. Eight massive 2,000-tonne dredges were airlifted in piece by piece using German Junkers aircraft, and several abandoned dredges can still be seen being reclaimed by the jungle.

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• Daru

  Daru is the capital of Western Province on an island near the mouth of the Fly River, just north of Torres Strait separating PNG from Australia. It is a poor town that has benefited little from mining activities in the region and has relatively little to interest visitors other than fishermen.

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• Goroka

  Goroka is the capital of Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands province, sitting at 1,600 m above sea level with a pleasant spring-like climate year-round. The city is best known for the annual Goroka Show, a major cultural event held around September 16 when PNG celebrates its independence, drawing participants from over 100 tribes.

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• Kainantu

  Kainantu is a small town of 6,723 residents perched at approximately 2,300 metres elevation in Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands. The town serves as a regional centre for traditional highland culture, most notably known for its pottery produced at the Eastern Highlands Cultural Centre and Museum.

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• Kavieng

  Kavieng is a remote, off-the-beaten-path destination on New Ireland's northern tip, offering excellent diving with WWII wrecks, surfing (November-April), and sport fishing. With only one or two flights daily, it sees few tourists, making it ideal for those seeking uncrowded adventure.

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• Kimbe

  Kimbe is a bustling port town and is said to be the fastest growing city in the South Pacific. It is situated on Kimbe Bay which is claimed to have more than 60 percent of the coral species of the Indo-Pacific area, making it a world-class diving destination.

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• Lae

  Lae is PNG's second city and main economic hub, handling most exports from the Highlands region via the Highlands Highway. While often dismissed as merely a transit stop, Lae offers WWII history, the nearby Rainforest Habitat with 30 species of Bird of Paradise, and access to the legendary ropen creature on Umboi Island.

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• Madang

  Madang is consistently called one of the prettiest towns in the South Pacific, with a pleasant laid-back atmosphere that makes it an ideal introduction to Papua New Guinea. The town offers fine scuba diving in nearby waters, accessible village tours, and serves as a gateway to the PNG Highlands.

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• Mendi

  Mendi serves as the capital of Southern Highlands province and the third largest of Papua New Guinea's 41 cities. At 1,675 m altitude in the Mendi River valley, it offers a cool highland climate contrasting with coastal Papua New Guinea.

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• Mount Hagen

  Mount Hagen is Papua New Guinea's third-largest city and the commercial heart of the Highlands region. The city serves as a gateway to PNG's most accessible highland experiences: the annual Hagen Show brings thousands of Highlanders in full traditional dress, while nearby mountains offer guided treks to summits above 4,500 m.

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• Namatanai

  Namatanai is a small, remote town in New Ireland province, Papua New Guinea, with a 2011 population of about 1500. It serves primarily as a transit point for travelers using the Boluminski Highway, which connects Kavieng with Namatanai along New Ireland's eastern coast.

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• Port Moresby

  Port Moresby is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea, serving as the main point of entry for virtually all visitors to the country. While it has a daunting reputation for high crime and is rated among the least livable cities globally, locals are predominantly welcoming and friendly.

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• Rabaul

  Rabaul sits inside a collapsed volcanic caldera on New Britain island, giving it an eerie beauty and dramatic harbor views. The town draws divers to its WWII Japanese shipwrecks, snorkelers to the reefs, and Japanese tourists to the extensive tunnel networks built during the occupation.

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• Trobriand Islands

  The Trobriand Islands, also called the Kiriwina Islands, are a remote group of raised coral atolls in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Known as the "Islands of Love," they gained fame through anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski's studies of courtship rituals in the 1920s.

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• Tufi

  Tufi is a small town on the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea in an area known as the Fjordland. The scenery is spectacular, with fjords over 90 metres deep and sides rising to over 150 metres, covered with moss and orchids.

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• Vanimo

  Vanimo is a small, remote border town on Papua New Guinea's northwest coast where few tourists venture. It serves primarily as a gateway for overland travel between PNG and Indonesia's Papua province.

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• Wau

  Wau is a small highland town at 1,100m elevation in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site of a gold rush during the 1920s-1930s and saw fierce fighting during the Battle of Wau in January 1943.

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• Wewak

  Wewak serves as the primary access point for the legendary Sepik River region, one of PNG's most culturally rich areas. The town holds significant WW2 history as the site of a major Japanese airbase and the formal surrender location where Japanese forces capitulated to Allied forces in September 1945.

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